Greek Names in Latin
Look up a Greek name before you choose its case ending.
How It Works
| Case | Aeneas | Penelope | Anchises |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | Aeneas | Penelope | Anchises |
| genitive | Aeneae | Penelopes | Anchisae |
| dative | Aeneae | Penelopae | Anchisae |
| accusative | Aenean or Aeneam | Penelopen | Anchisen |
| ablative | Aenea | Penelope | Anchisa |
| vocative | Aenea | Penelope | Anchise or Anchisa |
Men's names in -as or -es, such as Aeneas and Anchises, have -ae in the genitive and dative. Their accusative can end in -n, and Latin -m is also found, so Aeneam stands beside Aenean.
Women's names in -e, such as Penelope, keep the -e in the ablative and vocative and take -n in the accusative.
The Vulgate has Greek names of its own: Moyses has Moysi in the genitive and dative and Moysen in the accusative.
Examples (5)
- Aeneas Anchisen patrem portat.
Aeneas carries his father Anchises.
Aeneas is the Greek nominative, and Anchisen is the Greek accusative in -n.
- Aenea, cur fugis?
Aeneas, why are you running away?
Aenea is the vocative.
- Ulixes Penelopen post multos annos videt.
Ulysses sees Penelope after many years.
Penelopen is the accusative in -n.
- Fabula Penelopes me delectat.
The story of Penelope delights me.
Penelopes is the genitive of Penelope.
- Et ecce apparuerunt illis Moyses et Elias cum eo loquentes.
And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him.
Matthew 17:3. Moyses and Elias are Greek-style nominatives in -es and -as.
Common Mistakes
Leaving the name unchanged in the genitive.
Ascanius est filius Aeneas.Ascanius est filius Aeneae.A name that tells whose son someone is stands in the genitive, and the genitive of Aeneas is Aeneae. The nominative Aeneas does not fit after filius.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Greek names mix Latin and Greek endings, so the first-family masculine nouns, the vocative and Greek words in Church Latin come first.
- Masculine Nouns in -a
Know first declension masculine nouns, because Aeneas and Anchises are men's names with first-family endings: genitive Aeneae.
Level 2 - Greek Words in Church Latin
Know church words from Greek, because they show how Greek words come into Latin, and Greek names keep some of their Greek endings: Aeneas, Aenean.
Level 3 - The Vocative Case
Know the vocative, because Greek names have a vocative of their own: Aenea, cur fugis?
Level 2
Related Patterns
Words in This Pattern
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